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Popular Australia Pokémon Go site removed after chaos

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: A small Sydney suburban park that attracted thousands of Pokémon Go players, causing the grassy spot to turn to mud, has disappeared from the popular mobile game after complaints of chaos.

The backlash in the Sydney suburb of Rhodes is the latest battle between avid players of the augmented-reality game, which has been a huge hit since it was rolled out last month, and authorities are unhappy with the crowds it attracted.

“Weekends, particularly at night, there were up to a 1,000-1,500 people in the park,” City of Canada Bay Council’s Deputy Mayor Helen McCaffrey told AFP.

“The grass is no longer there and residents after three-and-a-half weeks were just over it,” she said of Peg Paterson Park, which has a playground and is surrounded by tall apartment buildings.

“When a rare Pokémon was caught, there would be a cheer and cars would honk as the traffic was becoming horrific. I spoke to somebody a couple of days ago who was coming in from Penrith (45 kilometres away) to play.”